A New Queen
by WarriorPrincess8402
Summary: Ten months after her husband's passing, Elizabeth hits it off with a mysterious man from another country who changes her life forever.
1. An Angel of Mercy

**Disclaimer:** This story is based on the BBC television series _Keeping Up Appearances_ , written by Roy Clarke, which as far as I know, is the property of the BBC. **No infringement is intended.**

 **Chapter 1: An Angel of Mercy**

"This quaint little bookstore of yours is quite charming in its bland simplicity," Hyacinth Bucket (supposedly pronounced "Bouquet") told her next-door neighbor and friend, Elizabeth Warden, in a _very_ loud and condescending voice.

"Thank you, Hyacinth," Liz quietly responded from behind the counter.

"Of course, given the fact that your husband passed away a mere ten months ago, I would have found it most inappropriate to start such an outlandish venture as buying an old bookstore and starting my own business. I would have mourned my husband's death more properly and waited at least a year before getting out into the world again, much less starting a new business and a new career, but to each her own, I suppose."

Maintaining her patience and biting her tongue as she was already so used to doing, Liz asked Hyacinth in the most pleasant voice possible, "Is there anything I can help you with, Hyacinth?"

For the next twenty minutes, William Spencer, a tall, handsome, sixty-year-old man with gray hair and brown eyes, observed as the painful scene unfolded. Hyacinth told Elizabeth about a book of poetry she was looking for, and she tried to help Hyacinth find it, only for Hyacinth to change her mind about a hundred times. One minute she was looking for a certain book of poetry. The next minute, she decided she was looking for a romance novel. Then she decided she wanted to try to find something in historical fiction. Finally, Liz was left with no choice but to put her foot down with Hyacinth and tell her that she simply had to attend to the gentleman who was still waiting at the counter. Naturally, Hyacinth was _not_ pleased and she grumbled quite a bit, but Liz remained firm and she left Hyacinth to browse while returning to the counter.

"I'm so very sorry about that," said an obviously embarrassed Liz.

"Don't be," he said gently, while Liz truly felt embraced by the warmth emanating from his brown eyes. "I've had to deal with people like her all my life. I can empathize. Believe me."

Liz chuckled, and then she asked him, "What may I help you with today, sir?"

William chuckled then too and told her, "Oh, please don't call me sir. Call me William. And you are?"

"Elizabeth Warden," she responded while shaking his hand, and in those moments, she could literally _feel_ her cheeks getting redder like a teenage girl with a crush. "Liz," she said nervously a couple of seconds later. "Everybody calls me Liz. Well, except for Hyacinth. She usually calls me Elizabeth."

"It's a great pleasure to meet you, Liz," said William as he became more and more mesmerized by the gentle beauty of Liz's face, and even more so by her kind blue eyes.

"It's a great pleasure to meet you too, William," Liz said with a smile. William may not have been in his twenties anymore, but he'd taken very good care of himself through the years and he was a very fine looking gentleman – a fact that did _not_ go unnoticed by Liz. As a matter of fact, merely looking at him was enough to make her heart start skipping beats. "Now," she said several long moments later, "how may I help you?"

William then told Liz the name of the book he was looking for, and she found it for him and brought it to him at the counter in under a minute. As soon as she handed it to him, he pleasantly laughed and said, "Now that's what I'd call prompt service."

Liz smiled, but just as she was about to say something, Hyacinth came back to the counter, rudely pushed in ahead of William, and paid for the two books she'd finally selected. After enduring a few more minutes of painful conversation with Hyacinth, both Liz and William were quite relieved when at long last, Hyacinth left the store and began walking the short distance home.

"I'm terribly sorry about that, William. Hyacinth is much like a tornado or a hurricane. She's a force of nature that's simply unstoppable."

"My dear girl, you needn't apologize for someone else's dreadful behavior. It's hardly your fault. My ex-wife Ann, who died year before last, often behaved even worse than Hyacinth, and throughout much of our marriage, I frequently found myself apologizing to others for the horrible way she treated them. I finally had to learn to stop holding myself responsible for another person's atrocious words and actions, and to stop apologizing for it. It's people like Ann and Hyacinth who owe the rest of the world an apology, not us."

"I never really thought about it like that before, but I suppose you're right," said Liz just as there was a sudden clap of thunder outside.

"Looks like it's about to rain," William observed.

"I hope Hyacinth makes it home in time before the rain starts."

"Oh, I don't know. The thought of her walking through her front door all drenched puts a rather wicked smile on my face," he said mischievously as his brown eyes twinkled with silent laughter.

Liz playfully wagged a finger at William and told him, "You're a naughty man, Mr. William…I'm sorry, what is your last name?"

"Spencer. William Spencer. And you're absolutely right. I am naughty. Horribly naughty. And quite proud of it. The naughtiest people are always the most fun!" he teased while Liz laughed and rolled her eyes at him. He then told her, "Oh dear, it seems I've forgotten to pay you."

"Don't worry about it. It's on the house," Liz said kindly. "After having to put up with Hurricane Hyacinth, it's the least I can do."

"Oh no, my dear. After everything Hurricane Hyacinth did to you today, you must allow me the pleasure of paying you with a tip to brighten your day," he insisted. He then handed Liz enough money to pay for the book, along with an extra twenty pounds.

"Oh my goodness," Liz chuckled. "How generous. Are you sure?"

"Absolutely."

"Well, thank you. Thank you very much. That was very kind."

"It's my pleasure," he assured her, and then they simply stared at each other for about a minute or so. It was kind of an awkward moment, but in a _good_ way. They were each feeling an attraction towards the other that neither one of them had experienced since they were teenage kids. William felt he could easily stand there and talk with Liz all day, and Liz would have truly _loved_ for him to do so.

"Well," Liz said quietly a little bit later. "I wish we could stand here all day and chat, but I just got a new shipment of books in that I need to sort out and put up on the shelves, and besides, I really would hate for you to get caught out in the rain on your way home."

"Yes. Yes, you're right," he said in a slightly disappointed tone. "I live close-by, and I did walk here. I suppose I really ought to be on my way."

"Please, come back at any time. Any time at all."

"Oh, I shall. I most certainly shall. Coming into your store today has been a sheer delight, Liz."

Liz smiled, and again she felt her cheeks getting warmer as she told him, "It's been a sheer delight to have you as a customer."

In that moment, thunder crashed outside once again, and William said, "You're right. I'd best be getting home before it starts raining. I'll be back again soon." _Very soon_ , he said to himself inside.

"I'll be looking forward to it," Liz told him truthfully, and then after they said goodbye to each other, William turned around and _reluctantly_ walked out of the bookstore. Liz carefully watched him through the tall glass windows in the front of the store as he turned to go home. When William was gone, Liz went to the storage room in the back of the bookstore and got started on her latest shipment of books.

However, two minutes later, rain began pouring down outside.

"Oh, no. William," Liz said quietly to herself, and then she quickly put on her coat, got out her umbrella, quickly locked up the bookstore, and ran after him. She saw him in the distance, running home, and she called after him several times. He heard her, stopped, and turned around, and when he saw Liz running towards him with her umbrella, he hurried to meet her halfway.

"Dear girl, you are a true angel of mercy," he said warmly with a big smile as Liz held the umbrella over both their heads.

"Well I could hardly let you get drenched and catch a cold," Liz said with a laugh. "Come on. I'll walk you home."

"Thank you very much."

"Of course," Liz said kindly, and then they comfortably fell into step with each other as they walked together side by side. They were silent for the most part, but it wasn't an awkward sort of silence. Even though they'd just met, they did in fact feel very comfortable together. Strange as it was, they almost felt as though they were a couple of old friends who'd known one another all their lives. Despite the bad weather, both of them would have been perfectly content staying out in the storm for ages, just so they could keep enjoying the other's presence.


	2. Tea Party Interruption

**A/N:** See Chapter 1 for disclaimer.

 **Chapter 2: Tea Party Interruption**

"Well, let's just say that things really went downhill between my husband and me, especially after my daughter Gail was born," Liz explained while sitting with William at his kitchen table, enjoying the soup and sandwiches he'd prepared for them for lunch. "Frank just couldn't stand it that my whole world no longer revolved around him alone; that he actually had to share my time and attention with our daughter."

"He would have been a good match for Ann," William joked, but in another way, he really was being quite serious. Liz laughed for a brief moment, and then he said, "Ann was much the same way when our daughter Priscilla was born. I was thirty and Ann was twenty-four when we were married. At the time, she seemed like a decent, caring person. Then after we were married, the mask came off, and she turned into this shrew who was constantly finding something to criticize and complain about. Nothing I ever did was good enough. And she made it clear, only _after_ we were married, that she never wanted children, despite the fact that she led me on to believe that she did want children throughout our entire engagement. She had a number of 'miscarriages' throughout her twenties and thirties, but I've often wondered if those so-called miscarriages weren't in fact abortions."

"How awful," Liz said sadly.

"And then when she was forty and I was forty-six, she got pregnant one last time. I was very upfront with her. I told her what I'd suspected through the years, and even though it wasn't easy, I convinced her to go through with the pregnancy."

"Perhaps this is an unpopular opinion these days, but I think that abortion is utterly cruel and inhumane, both for the mother and the baby. Most people won't talk about it, but there actually _are_ mental, emotional, and spiritual consequences for the mother if she chooses to end her baby's life in the womb. Abortion _does_ leave many women horribly scarred inside. And the consequences to the poor unborn baby are more than obvious."

"How right you are, my dear. And what you said may be unpopular, but it isn't an opinion. _It's the truth._ And the truth is almost _never_ popular with people. And there are also consequences for the unborn baby's father. Nobody ever takes the father's feelings into consideration, but I've had many nightmares over the years, thinking about the hellish way my unborn children probably died."

"I'll bet you have," Liz said sympathetically.

"And tragically, until I finally got my act together and divorced Ann four years ago, things weren't much better for Priscilla. I was _such_ an unbelievable fool for so many years. I really did love Ann in the beginning, and through the years, I kept making excuses for her and attributing her horrific behavior to things like mental illness and depression. I guess I just wanted to believe so badly that somehow, someday, I could get the woman I married back. And I also made excuse after excuse after excuse for her when she was cold towards Priscilla. Just like with your husband, Ann _could not stand it_ that my whole world no longer revolved around just her; that she actually had to share some space in my heart with our daughter. Can you imagine that? A mother jealous of her own child. They say mothers have an automatic, instinctive love for their children, but that's not always true. I do agree that most mothers do, but there are some narcissistic women in the world like Ann who honestly don't care anything about their own children."

"It was the same way with Frank. He hardly ever spent a moment with Gail when she was a child, and when he did talk to her, nine times out of ten, it was to criticize her in some way. The way he constantly deprived her of the love and acceptance she craved was so emotionally abusive, even cruel. Then one night when Gail was eight, they got into an argument, and Frank actually hit her. He slapped her so hard, he actually knocked her down. And that was it for me. He'd slapped me around a bit from time to time through the years, but when he dared to raise a hand to my Gail, he went where angels fear to tread. What he did to Gail was the final straw. I threw Frank out of the house that night and I told him to never come back."

"Good for you!"

"Frank worked as an executive for an oil company here in England at the time, and he hoarded his money. He actually made a great deal of money at his job, but Gail and I only received a small fraction of what he made most of the time. Frank knew that if I filed for divorce, I would likely get half of his money as well as the house, and that's why after I threw him out, he agreed to a job transfer to Saudi Arabia. He lived there for the last thirteen years of his life, reluctantly sending Gail and me just enough to live on–"

"All the while hoarding most of his wealth for himself and hiring expensive, hotshot lawyers to do everything in their power to prevent you from getting a divorce and moving on with your life."

"Exactly. When Frank died suddenly of a stroke ten months ago, it really did set me free in a lot of ways. For one thing, after he died, Gail and I finally received everything he'd been holding back from us financially, and that made it possible for me to buy the bookstore. I'd always loved walking there over the years and finding some good books to get lost in for a while. For me, reading has always been a good way to recover from a coffee session with Hyacinth."

"I'll bet," William said with a laugh.

"When I found out three months ago that it was going out of business because the previous owner wanted to retire, I had to do something. I've always adored that bookstore, so I convinced him to allow me to buy it from him. Running _Blue Sky Books_ has been a bit of a challenge, but it's also been a very good change for me."

"I'm sure it has been."

"And Frank's death has freed me in other ways as well. I can never be one hundred percent certain, but I've always suspected that while Frank wasn't exactly faithful to me during his time in Saudi Arabia. And even though it was very tempting to seek out an affair of my own in all that time so I wouldn't be so lonely, I just couldn't do it. I've had quite a few bumps in the road in my relationship with Jesus over the years, but even though God and I haven't always been on the best of terms, I just couldn't do something like that knowing that He was watching me. I don't think I'm quite ready to start dating again just yet, but it is nice to know that I can do it now with a clean conscience."

"You, my dear, are something in this world that is exceedingly rare."

"And what's that?"

"A sweet, gentle soul with honor and integrity and a conscience, who truly believes in values."

Liz smiled and told him, "It takes one to know one."

"You're very kind."

"It's true."

"I try to be, but I've made many appalling mistakes, particularly as a father."

"What do you mean?"

"To my knowledge, Ann never hit Priscilla or physically abused her, but emotionally speaking, she was very cruel to her. Whenever I was around, Ann was civil to Priscilla. She was a little cold, and she certainly wasn't loving or maternal, but in my presence, Ann was never hurtful to her. I told you earlier that Priscilla and I are from Askana, and I hold a prominent position in the Askanian government that has frequently kept me away from my family over the years. Sadly, I wasn't at home often enough to see, _really see_ , what Ann was putting my child through. My frequently being away from home, combined with my selfish and stubborn refusal to let go of the delusion that maybe I could get the old Ann back, prevented me from truly understanding what was happening with Priscilla. One day when she was ten years-old, it all came to a head. I was late coming home one night. It was about midnight or so, and on my way to bed, I heard Priscilla crying in the bathroom. I knocked on the door and I called her, and she unlocked the door and she opened it, and when she did, I saw that there was blood everywhere," William told Liz as a couple of tears escaped from his eyes. "She'd actually slit her little wrists with a razor blade."

"Oh, no," Liz gasped.

"After we called an ambulance and got her to the hospital, the doctors were able to fix her up easily enough. When she was still in the hospital, I talked to Priscilla alone for a long time. It was difficult to get her to open up, but she finally told me why she attempted suicide. It was because Ann had told her over and over again through the years that she'd never wanted her and she didn't love her. She did what she did because she was so utterly heartbroken. And like with you and Gail, that, for me, was the final straw. I filed for divorce the next day. Mercifully, Ann didn't even try to fight me for custody."

"Oh, that's absolutely devastating what Priscilla went through. But thank God you did something about it. So many parents won't."

"If there's any one thing in life that infuriates me more than anything, it's parents with an abusive or narcissistic spouse who come to realize that their own child is great danger, and yet they stay with them and continue to enable them, and they throw their children under the bus."

"I know exactly what you mean. I couldn't possibly agree more," said Liz. "There's nothing in life that angers me more than a parent enabling their child-abusing spouse. I won't go all into details, but when my parents were alive, my mother constantly enabled my father. She never _once_ tried to protect my brother Emmet and me, and she _certainly_ never tried to leave him and provide a safer, healthier environment for us. That's precisely why I went ballistic and kicked Frank out of the house when he hit Gail. I'll never understand parents who enable and even protect their abusive spouses. How, _how_ , could a parent throw _their own child_ under the bus for the sake of an abuser?"

"I honestly don't know. I've asked myself that question for a long time now."

"William?"

"Yes?"

"How on God's green earth did we end up talking about all this?"

William laughed and answered, "I'm really not sure. It just kind of…happened."

"Just a few hours ago, you and I didn't know one another from Adam. Now we know some of each other's deepest, darkest secrets. It's kind of unnerving."

"I know. It's not like we woke up this morning and said to ourselves, 'I'm going to share some of my innermost secrets with somebody I just met.'"

"You want to know what's really strange, almost scary?"

"What's that?"

"I think you understand me more and connect with me better after knowing me for just a few hours than Frank ever did in the entire history of our marriage _._ "

"I think I can say the same thing about you. This is really getting spooky."

"I know."

"I don't think your neighbor Hyacinth would approve."

"Oh, she definitely wouldn't. She probably thinks that I should spend at least the first ten years after my husband's death locked away in my house, wearing black and mourning all the time. She's very strict, much like Mrs. Councilor Nugent."

"Who's that?"

"A lady Hyacinth is always trying to impress. If there's any one thing Mrs. Councilor Nugent hates, it's open displays of romantic affection. As a matter of fact, I think she hates romance altogether. I really do feel rather sorry for her. She does seem to live a kind of unhappy existence. Hyacinth is having her over for tea tomorrow afternoon, as a matter of fact. She's been bragging about it all week. The bookstore is closed on Sundays, so I'm expected to be there as well, unfortunately."

"You know, I could come with you, and right in the middle of things, I could grab you and kiss you passionately in front of both of them, just to stir things up and ruin their day!" William said mischievously.

"William, you really are terrible!" Liz said with an obvious laugh, and he laughed with her.

"It's like I told you earlier. It's the naughtiest souls in this world who are the most fun!"

Liz shook her head at him and laughed.

* * *

That was basically how they spent the next hour and a half, just laughing and talking comfortably and having a wonderful time, enjoying each other's company. Finally, at two-thirty, Liz forced herself to tell William goodbye so she could get back to the bookstore and reopen it, at least for another two and a half hours before it was closing time.

Liz had a handful of customers through the rest of the day, and then at five o'clock, she closed up shop and went home – humming and singing to herself all the way. When she arrived home a little while later, she was greeted to the pleasant aroma of Emmet cooking steaks and rolls and a multitude of vegetables for their dinner. (Ever since Liz started working at the bookstore, she and Emmet had agreed that they would split the cooking and the housework fifty-fifty from now on, and as she'd cooked dinner the night before, it was officially Emmet's turn tonight.)

Liz set her purse down on the coffee table, still smiling brightly and humming to herself, when Emmet came into the lounge.

With a small chuckle, Emmet asked, "What's got you in such a cheerful mood tonight, sis?"

"Oh, nothing," Liz said innocently, but Emmet could easily see the sparkle in his sister's eyes and he knew she was holding something back.

"Come on, Liz. What is it? I haven't seen you this happy in quite a while."

"Fine. If you _must_ know, I met somebody at the bookstore today."

"Uh huh," Emmet said with a knowing smile while folding his arms across his chest. "Go on."

"It really is kind of crazy. William and I just seem to have this kind of automatic chemistry."

"So it's _William_ already, is it?" Emmet teased.

"Oh, stop!" said Liz as she and Emmet laughed, and then they sat down in her two living chairs.

"So go on. Tell me more about this William of yours."

"He's tall. He's handsome. He's thoughtful. He's funny. He's from Askana."

"Askana. Isn't Askana that tiny little island that's very close to Ireland?"

"Yes. William says it's even smaller than the micronation of Liechtenstein. It only has a population of around fifty thousand people."

"Go on. Tell me more about your William."

"He divorced his wife Ann four years ago, and she died in a car accident a while back. And he has a fourteen-year-old daughter named Priscilla."

"He sounds like a nice enough chap."

"Well I certainly think so. We struck up a conversation when we met at the bookstore today. Hyacinth was also there, and as usual, she was murder, but William was very understanding. He mentioned that he lived near the bookstore and that he'd walked there, and right after he left, it started pouring outside. So I decided to go rescue him with my umbrella."

"Every good citizen's duty," Emmet said jokingly.

"Precisely," Liz said with a bit of a laugh. "Anyway, I walked him home, and he insisted that I stay for lunch."

"And it would have been far too rude to say no," Emmet kidded.

"Precisely," Liz chuckled. "He made us soup and sandwiches, perfect food for a rainy afternoon I might add."

"Just perfect," Emmet said in the same teasing tone.

"And afterwards, we spent about the next hour just…talking and laughing. Everything is just so incredibly…comfortable with him. I know we only just met today, and I know how crazy it is, but I literally feel as though I've known William all my life. It's just so easy to relax and let my hair down with him. He makes me feel as though I can talk to him about anything."

Emmet's face really brightened in that moment as the truth began to hit him. "You're falling in love with him!" he joyfully announced.

"Well I wouldn't take it that far."

"Déjà vu."

"I beg your pardon?"

"You're giving me a déjà vu. You had the exact same look in your eyes when you first met Andrew in school. You fell for Andrew in ten seconds flat and the whole world could see it, and none more so than your little brother. And now you're falling in love with William." Liz had met Andrew at age fifteen when his family had first moved into hers and Emmet's neighborhood. It really had been love at first sight. They'd dated for the next two years, and then Andrew proposed to Liz and she accepted. But five months later, Andrew was tragically killed in a horseback riding accident. Liz had ended up marrying Frank Warden a few years later, but her marriage to Frank was truly nothing in comparison to the kind of love she'd shared with Andrew.

"You know, for many years, it really hurt to even _think_ about Andrew, much less talk about him. But I'm in a place in my life now where it truly makes me happy to look back on all the wonderful times we had together," Liz said philosophically.

"And now William makes you feel the same way Andrew once did, doesn't he?" Emmet asked in all seriousness.

"I think it's far too early to say. Like I told you earlier, we only just met today."

Again, Emmet's eyes shined with mischief as he said aloud, "Liz and William sitting in a tree! K-I-S-S-I-N-G!"

"Oh, shut up!" said Liz as she playfully threw a small pillow at her brother, and then they both had a good long laugh.

* * *

The following afternoon, just as Emmet stepped outside to take a walk, he spotted William walking down the street. He looked like the man Liz had described to him the night before, but he wasn't entirely sure if it was him or not. But when he approached Emmet a moment later, he knew.

"Excuse me, sir," William said kindly. "You wouldn't happen to be Elizabeth Warden's brother Emmet by any chance?"

Emmet smiled and shook hands with him and told him, "Yes, as a matter of fact, that's precisely who I am. And let me guess: you're William Spencer."

"Guilty as charged," he joked. "I spent a most delightful afternoon with Liz yesterday, and I couldn't resist the urge to ask around and find out where she lived. I wanted to drop off this little card for her, but now that you and I have met, would you mind terribly giving it to her for me?" William asked as he reached inside his coat pocket and pulled out an envelope.

"Of course not," Emmet said kindly, and then he took the envelope.

"Thank you very much. I, uh…I suppose the poor dear is trapped having afternoon tea with Hyacinth and Mrs. Councilor Nugent next door?"

"Indeed she is," Emmet answered, clearly feeling sorry for his sister.

"What a shame. I ran into Hyacinth at your sister's bookstore yesterday. It was a painful experience. I can only imagine what you two must go through living next door to her."

"It's murder," Emmet told him truthfully.

"I'm sure it is murder having to put up with the likes of Hyacinth all the time. It's a shame I can't go in there right now and rescue your poor sister. You know, when Liz and I were having lunch yesterday, I was joking around with her that perhaps I should go to tea with her and then kiss her madly in front of Hyacinth and Mrs. Councilor Nugent just to ruffle their feathers a bit."

Emmet laughed and said, "Oh, that would ruffle their feathers way more than just a bit." In the following moment, a very mischievous idea took shape in Emmet's mind. "I tell you what. Why don't you come along with me? I know Hyacinth will let me join her tea party. You see, I produce and direct the Amateur Operatic Society here in town, and Hyacinth is constantly trying to get me to give her a part in one of my productions. I'll tell her you're a friend of ours, and once we're inside, you can find Liz and kiss her in front of Hyacinth and Mrs. Councilor Nugent."

"You know something, Emmet? I'm beginning to think you might be as awful as I am!" William observed, and indeed it was quite true. Whenever an opportunity presented itself for Emmet to ruin Hyacinth's day, he seized it without a moment's hesitation.

"Oh, I assure you I'm not. In fact, I'm much worse," Emmet said proudly, and then they had a good laugh before walking next door to Hyacinth's house.

* * *

A few moments later, Emmet rang Hyacinth's doorbell. The door opened about a minute later, and Hyacinth was clearly happy to see that it was Emmet (and relieved to see that it was _not_ her slovenly sisters and brother-in-law!)

"Good afternoon, Emmet," Hyacinth said cheerfully.

"Hello, Hyacinth. I just wanted to take a moment and introduce you to a new friend of mine, Mr. William Spencer. I do believe the two of you saw one another at Liz's bookstore yesterday, as a matter of fact."

"Oh yes, hello. I'm having tea now with Elizabeth and Mrs. Councilor Nugent. You must join us," Hyacinth insisted.

"We'd love to, Hyacinth," Emmet said with a grin that was a mile wide. "We'd _really_ love to!"

"Indeed we would!" William said quite cheerfully.

"Please, do come in," said Hyacinth, and then they followed her into the lounge where Liz, Richard, and Mrs. Councilor Nugent were all sitting.

"It's the only thing these young people ever do nowadays. No matter what, they are _always_ obsessing about their romantic entanglements with the opposite sex and engaging in grossly inappropriate public displays of affection. That's the problem with this world. That's why everything is going downhill. Too many people are allowing themselves to be ruled by their hormones," Mrs. Councilor Nugent bickered.

In the next moment, William walked up behind Hyacinth's settee and gently tapped Liz on the shoulder, and when she turned around, her entire face registered a kind of pleasant shock at seeing him again.

"William!" said a very happily surprised Liz, and then she got up and came around to where he was. "It's wonderful to see you again. What are you and Emmet doing here?"

"My darling, I'm here for one reason and one reason alone. I'm here because ever since yesterday, I have been _constantly_ obsessing about a romantic entanglement with you and I _very_ strongly desire to allow myself to be ruled by my hormones and engage in a grossly inappropriate public display of affection with you!"

And with that, William shamelessly grabbed Liz, pressed his lips down on hers, and gave her a very long, _very passionate_ kiss. As they were kissing, Emmet watched intently as the scene unfolded before him, just _dying_ of laughter inside, while Richard merely stared at them with his lower jaw on the floor. Hyacinth and Mrs. Councilor Nugent were equally shocked. Too shocked, in fact, to say anything.

And as for Liz? She knew it was wrong. _She knew_ she shouldn't allow a man she barely knew to just kiss her like that out of the blue. But it had been _so incredibly long_ since she'd tasted of real romance, real affection even, and William's sudden kiss was practically like finding an oasis of water after spending a lifetime in the desert. Liz knew she shouldn't allow the kiss to continue like this, that she shouldn't allow herself to _enjoy_ it so very much, but she just couldn't help herself. And the thought of how it must be driving killjoys like Hyacinth and Mrs. Councilor Nugent up the wall was merely icing on the cake.

After the kiss finally came to an end, without even thinking about it, they rested their foreheads up against each other, closed their eyes, and just broke down laughing. Even though they barely knew one another, they truly did have the chemistry of a couple who had been married for years.

"You're horrible!" Liz declared while each of them were still cracking up. They then let each other go and put a tiny bit more distance between themselves, and Liz told him, "You are utterly, absolutely horrible! You must have been murder when you were a young child! I feel sorry for your poor mother!"

William laughed, and then he asked, "Liz, my dear, would you be interested in going out for a walk with a naughty little boy like me?"

"I'd love to," Liz told him honestly. In the next moment, she turned to Hyacinth and Mrs. Councilor Nugent and said, "Thank you very much for my tea, Hyacinth. It was nice to see you again, Mrs. Councilor Nugent."

"Lovely to meet you all," said William, and then he happily walked out of Hyacinth's house with Liz on his arm. Meanwhile, Emmet was still dying of laughter inside, Richard's lower jaw was still on the floor, and Hyacinth chased after Mrs. Councilor Nugent as she threw a fit and stormed out.


	3. Courtship

**A/N:** See Chapter 1 for disclaimer.

 **Chapter 3: Courtship**

"It was one for the history books, Liz," Emmet informed his sister as they were sitting in their lounge later on that evening. "Mrs. Councilor Nugent threw a fit. You naughty little children ruined the entire tea party – and you _also_ made my day!"

Liz laughed and said, "Oh, I hope we didn't make _too_ much trouble for Hyacinth."

"So what if you did? For years, Hyacinth has _constantly_ made trouble for _us_. I say one good turn deserves another. Liz, you really are too nice."

"That's what William says."

"You two must've gotten in a great deal of exercise today. I noticed that was a very long 'walk' you took."

Liz suppressed a laugh, playfully rolled her eyes at her brother's antics, and told him, "If you _must_ know, nosey, we didn't just walk together. I took him to that little Italian restaurant that just opened up a couple of weeks ago and I treated him to supper. I felt it was the least I could do after he made me lunch yesterday. And speaking of which, I brought some food home for you too. It's on the kitchen counter near the microwave."

"Thank you. Well Liz, I'm very happy to hear that you enjoyed your date with your new boyfriend."

"Emmet, it was not a date, and he is not my boyfriend. I already told him I didn't feel quite ready to enter the dating world again, and I'm not. William and I are just friends right now."

"Liz, when you allow a man to kiss you the way William did today, when you go out for walks with him and you're gone for hours, and when you take him out to eat supper at a cozy little Italian restaurant, he is _undoubtedly_ your new boyfriend, and it _was_ a date."

"Little brother, don't you have anything better to do with your time besides psychoanalyzing my new friendship with William?"

"Not at the moment, no," Emmet teased, and again, Liz rolled her eyes at him. Emmet then laughed softly and told his sister, "I'm sorry if I've been getting on your nerves teasing you about William. I'm just so happy for you. The two of you are obviously very attracted to one another. I say you are way overdue for a little happiness in your life."

"I do appreciate it, but I think your 'happiness' for William and me is a little premature. We've only known each other for two days!"

"He's crazy about you. And even if you won't come out and admit it yet, I can tell that _you_ are just as crazy about _him_."

Liz stood in that moment, looked down at her brother, and said, "If you'll excuse me, Mr. Nosey, I have some knitting to do."

She went to her room to work on her knitting then, all the while Emmet remained sitting in the lounge, wearing a very smug grin as he was certain he was right about what was happening between the two of them.

* * *

"Living next door to Hyacinth has certainly been challenging over the years," Liz told William one Sunday afternoon three weeks later as they were having a picnic together in the park. "One thing it _hasn't_ been is boring. Hyacinth may be difficult, but I'll say this for her: she and her family are actually very interesting people."

"When you say the people in her family are interesting, you're talking about her poorer sisters, Daisy and Rose, and her brother-in-law Onslow, right?"

"Yes. You see, Hyacinth is constantly trying to climb the social ladder. She is always trying to convince the people around her that she's more upper-class than she really is. And I think Daisy, Onslow, and Rose embarrass her. She always tries so hard to disassociate herself from them as much as possible. But no matter how hard she tries, it never works.

"I never will forget one time when my car had broken down, and Onslow, Daisy, and Rose had just shown up at Hyacinth's house. Hyacinth's senile father had 'altered' a number of toys with a screwdriver in the toy department of the mall, and her family had to pay them a pretty steep bill to cover it. In the meantime, Emmet and I had to go into town for some reason; I don't remember what it was. Anyway, Onslow was kind enough to offer us a lift, but there was only so much room in the backseat. Naturally, Onslow was in the driver's seat and Daisy was in the passenger's seat up front, and in the back, Hyacinth was on one side, I was in the middle, and Emmet was on the other side of me, and the only place for Rose was in Emmet's lap."

"Oh, no," William said with a laugh.

"We rode together in Onslow's car, all the way into town, with Rose sitting on Emmet's knee. Emmet did appear to be uncomfortable with that level of closeness to Rose. After all, she's constantly throwing herself at Emmet, and at basically every man she ever lays her eyes on. However, Emmet certainly didn't appear to be struggling. I think a part of him really enjoyed it."

"Isn't Onslow's car that deathtrap of a vehicle that's always backfiring?"

Liz laughed and told him, "That's the one."

"It's almost funny when you think about it. Hyacinth's always trying so hard to convince everybody that she's a member of the upper-class, when in fact, she isn't fooling anybody. People know exactly where she's come from. Ironically, the only person Hyacinth is ultimately fooling is Hyacinth."

"I know."

"Liz, may I ask you a personal question?"

"Certainly."

"How come you allow Hyacinth to take over so much of your life? She's constantly ordering you over to her house for coffee and tea, that is whenever you're not working at the bookstore. It seems that whenever you have a free moment, Hyacinth is always there, trying so hard to take over every possible spare moment of your life that she can. She's _always_ driving you and your poor brother up the wall. You've stood up to narcissists before, like your husband Frank. Why is it so hard for you to stand up to Hyacinth?"

After a long silence, Liz finally told him, "With Frank, it was actually quite simple to stand up to him and kick him out of my life. He was hurting my daughter, and obviously, there was no way I could stand for that. With Hyacinth, it's different. It's as if there's this broken little girl living inside Hyacinth, just crying out for acceptance. There's a childlike innocence about Hyacinth. Yes, she's dreadfully irritating. Yes, she's utterly oblivious to the world around her. Yes, she lives in a fantasy world of her own making, which she is the queen of. But I don't believe she's truly capable of understanding just what it is that she does to the people around her all the time. Unlike Frank, Hyacinth never truly means to hurt anyone. Frank was cruel. Hyacinth is simply annoying. As difficult as Hyacinth can be, she does have a heart deep down underneath her snobbery – _way_ deep down, perhaps. And I know she gets lonely, and there is this lonely little girl living inside her that really does need a friend. I know I probably do allow Hyacinth to get away with far too much in my life, but just think what it would be like for poor Richard if I weren't there to take some of the heat off him. The poor man does need somebody there to give him a break from Hyacinth every once in a while."

"You know something, Liz? I think I owe you an apology."

"Why?"

"Up until now, I made the mistake of believing you were being weak by not standing up to Hyacinth. But now I realize that I was mistaking your kindness, patience, and generosity for weakness. I made the mistake of believing that it was only a weak person who would put up with Hyacinth the way you do, but after hearing what you had to say just now, I understand. A strong person is the _only_ kind of person who could endure her the way you do."

That comment deeply touched Liz, and she smiled at William and told him, "Thank you. Thank you very much for saying that. It means a lot to me."

William put his hand on top of Liz's then and said, "It's just the truth, my dear." Liz smiled at William again and squeezed his hand, and then he returned the smile. After several more moments of silence, William asked, "Liz, I know that three weeks ago, I kissed you at Hyacinth's tea party as a joke to ruin her day. With your permission, I'd like very much so to kiss you for real this time."

Liz laughed and said, "I assure you, you definitely have my permission."

In that moment, William leaned over and gave Liz the sweetest kiss she'd ever experienced in her entire life.

* * *

Over the next four months, Liz and William remained practically inseparable. They were constantly over at each other's houses, going out for walks, having meals together, and talking for hours on the telephone. They found they both shared a great love for literature and classical music, and Liz was often fascinated by all the things William told her about Askanian politics and about the political climate in various countries all over the world.

They also soon found that they adored one another's daughters. Not long after they first met, William introduced Liz to his daughter Priscilla, and Liz fell in love with her almost as quickly as she'd fallen in love with her father. Priscilla was a beautiful fourteen-year-old girl with reddish-brown hair and her father's brown eyes, and a person could take just one look into those brown eyes of hers and tell that she'd been through a terrible amount of pain in her young life. Thankfully, Priscilla was in a much better place now than she had been a few years ago, and in fact her harrowing experiences with her (so-called) mother had caused her to become wise beyond her years. Liz was often impressed by the girl's inner-strength and intelligence, and also by her kind heart and her pure empathy for other people. And a few weeks into their relationship, Liz invited William and Priscilla over to her house while her daughter Gail was visiting so that they could meet her, and they too were impressed with Gail's sharp mind and witty personality. William was touched when Gail invited him and Priscilla to her college graduation ceremony that was going to be taking place the following week, and they gladly attended with Liz and Emmet, and also with an old family friend of theirs, Paul Silver, and Priscilla's tutor, Sarah Johnson, both of whom had been staying with them ever since they came to England.

It was at Gail's graduation party later that evening that she and Harold announced that they were getting married. It was news that Liz in particular had been waiting for on pins and needles. The young couple had decided on having a small ceremony in their flat the following month, and naturally, Gail invited William, Priscilla, and their friend Paul to come, and they were all too happy to accept.

"I thought those two would never get serious about their relationship and tie the knot," Liz told William as he walked her home from the bookstore one Saturday evening. "As I'm sure you can imagine, Hyacinth has given me so much grief over Gail's situation in the past."

"And naturally, we know that your daughter's decisions about her personal life are always Hyacinth's business," William joked sarcastically.

"Right," Liz said with a knowing laugh. "As you already know, I am a Christian. I may have been distant from Christ through the years, but I never stopped loving Him and believing in Him."

"It's been the same way with me," William admitted.

"And I knew that when Gail moved into Harold's flat with him three years ago – his _one bedroom flat_ – without being married to him, that she was doing the wrong thing. But I couldn't really blame her. It's not as though my marriage to Frank provided her a good example."

"As parents, we all long to be perfect examples for our kids. And none of us ever are," William said understandingly.

"That certainly is true. Anyway, a few weeks before we met, Gail and Harold actually got into a terrible car accident. Their car flipped, but miraculously enough, they came through it without a scratch. About a week later, Gail said to me that she wanted what I had. She said that she'd always noticed that I had this kind of certainty; that I knew I was going to go to heaven when I died, and that she wanted that. So, I just told her the simple truth of the Gospel: that all she had to do was trust in Jesus Christ and accept the free gift of salvation from our sins that He achieved for us on the cross. She hasn't been the same since. And not long after that, she told me that the same thing happened with Harold, and he too came to trust in Christ. That car crash really shook them up and made them start really thinking about where they would go when they died."

"It's a shame more people don't really stop to think about where they're going to be spending eternity."

"I agree."

"What's going on within the Christian church nowadays is utterly tragic. It's only just starting to come out in the news now, but for decades, Catholic priests have been sexually abusing children. And on the Protestant evangelical side, it's really not any better. As you know, Askana is a mostly Protestant nation, and I've seen this happen in my family's church with my own eyes. You know I have two younger siblings."

Liz nodded and said, "John and Olivia."

"Right. My sister Olivia married a dreadful man when she was eighteen. He really put her through hell, not just emotionally, but physically. She always tried to hide the bruises with makeup, but we could all see how badly swollen her poor face was. I stepped in whenever I could and convinced her to stay with Ann, Priscilla, and me, although our home environment wasn't that much better. I tried very hard to talk her into leaving him. The whole family did. Thankfully, she finally did, but it took years. For so long, our church kept convincing her that it was God's will for her to stay with him, even though he was abusing her. It just made me sick. Both sides are an equally tragic mess. Catholic churches are enabling pedophile priests, and Protestant churches are enabling wife beaters and child abusers in their congregations."

"I couldn't agree more. _It is_ a tragic mess. It's heartbreaking what the Christian church has become."

"The only thing that could be more tragic is what's happening with people's eternal destinies because the 'Christian church' started preaching a false gospel that's not any different from all the other false religions of this world. Think about it. What do all the world's religions have in common? In one way or another, they're all about human beings earning themselves a place in heaven through their own self-righteousness. The one thing that sets _true_ Christianity apart is, it recognizes the reality that no one can ever possibly be good enough to meet God's standards of perfection through their own effort, which is precisely why Jesus Christ went to the cross for all of us. Jesus did for us what we _couldn't_ do for ourselves."

"You sound like our vicar. He talks about that same issue all the time, and how dangerous it is to combine salvation and discipleship and how churches are preaching a works-based gospel all the time."

"Are you really sure he ought to be the leader of an Anglican church?" William teased.

Liz laughed and told him, "He's talked about that a lot, too. He's told us before that he basically considers himself an Anglican in name only. He staunchly disagrees with much of Anglican theology, and he's always adamantly preached that we are saved simply by trusting in Jesus, not by dedicating our lives to Him or by our good works or by anything that we do personally."

"Practically no church in this world is out there preaching the truth these days, and they certainly aren't holding abusers and sexual predators to account, either."

"As far as abusers and sexual predators are concerned, it's truly a shame we can't load them all up on a shuttle and blast them into outer space," Liz teased, and William laughed.

"We'd certainly be a lot better off, wouldn't we?"

"I would imagine so."

They stopped walking then, and William gazed deeply into Liz's eyes, lovingly pushed a few strands of hair back behind her ear, and said, "Liz, I don't believe I've ever told you this, but it is such so wonderful to finally have a good woman in my life that I can share everything with: my faith in Christ, my ideas and passions, my every thought and dream. I only hope I've made you feel the same way."

Liz smiled and told him, "I've felt that way since day one. You were the last thing I ever expected, and I couldn't have hoped for a more wonderful surprise. I've so loved every moment we've spent together."

"As have I," William agreed, and then they started walking towards Liz's house once again. "Unfortunately," he continued a moment later, "I have some rather bad news."

"What's that?"

"Priscilla and I have to go back to Askana next month – after we attend Gail's wedding, of course," William said with a smile, and Liz smiled in return. "Ever since I accepted my position in our government so many years ago, I have never once taken a vacation. I've never once taken any real time for myself, and largely because of that, I was able to get away for an extended period and come here and have some real time with my daughter. But that time is going to be up next month and Priscilla and I must get back to our lives in Askana."

"I understand," Liz said sadly. "I'll miss you both terribly, but I do understand. You'd told me about your extended vacation time a couple of times before, and I knew it couldn't last forever. I knew the time was coming when you and Priscilla would have to go back home."

"It hasn't been much of a vacation for Priscilla, I'm afraid. As you know, I arranged for her tutor to come with us and our friend Paul, so she hasn't been allowed to miss a moment of her studies."

"I doubt she's been very stressed or challenged by any of them. She's a terribly bright young girl."

"Indeed. I've always admired her intelligence. And her big heart. She's going to miss you."

"I'll miss her as well. I'll miss both of you. Terribly."

"Long-distance relationships can be quite tough. And my position in Askana is extremely demanding. I work very long hours. But I don't want what we have to die out because of the distance between us."

"Relationships only die out if people _let them_ die out, William. And I'm going to tell you the truth. Over these past four months that we've been together, I've had more joy in my life than I've experienced in years. I can't speak for you, but as for me personally, I feel that what we have is far too important to allow it to die. I plan on calling you and Priscilla and writing you constantly."

"And I plan on doing the same. I'm going to call you and write you every single day, Liz, no matter how busy I get with my work."

"So am I," Liz told him sincerely, and then she giggled a bit. "I sure hate to think what our phone bill is going to be!"

"Indeed."

"But it'll be more than worth it to keep in touch."

"More than worth it," he whispered. And then, just as they approached Liz's front garden, William gazed into her beautiful blue eyes, stroked her cheek, and told her truthfully, "I love you, Liz."

"Oh William, I love you, too," Liz whispered. And in the next moment, he kissed her with all the love, tenderness, and passion he could muster, and she returned the kiss with the same fervor. It was then that Emmet came around from the back garden and saw the scene unfolding, and he smiled. After everything their parents and Frank had put his sister through over the years, she more than deserved to be happy now, and it was a joy for Emmet to see it.

However, unbeknownst to Liz, William, or Emmet, somebody else was watching as well, and _she_ was _not_ happy. Hyacinth had stepped outside for a brief moment, and when she spotted Liz and William kissing outside, to say the least, she was _not_ pleased.

"Richard!" she called. "Richard, come out here!"

Knowing better than to disobey one of his wife's orders, Richard hurried outside.

"What is it, Hyacinth?" he asked.

"Look. Look over at Elizabeth's house."

Richard then spotted Liz and William kissing, and he smiled. "Ah yes, Liz and William. Looks like love to me."

"This is most inappropriate!" Hyacinth spat out in an angry whisper as she and Richard went back into their house.

"Why is it inappropriate?" asked Richard after Hyacinth closed the door behind them.

"Her husband's barely been gone a year, and here she is flaunting her new affections for another man for the whole neighborhood to see! It's such a disgrace!"

"I don't think it's a disgrace. Liz is in her own garden, after all, and it is a free country."

"It's not a question of whether or not it's a free country, Richard. It's a question of propriety. She has no right to be carrying on like this so soon after her husband's death. I never will forget the atrocious way they behaved at my afternoon tea with Mrs. Councilor Nugent. Elizabeth is utterly destroying her reputation, and the reputation of this entire neighborhood!"

"I highly doubt that. Elizabeth's a good woman, Hyacinth, and everybody knows that. And you do have to take it into consideration that Liz was all alone here while her husband was living in Saudi Arabia for all those years before he died. Liz has probably been very lonely. I don't think anyone begrudges her having a relationship now. I think we're all just glad to see Liz so happy. Elizabeth shouldn't have to mourn her husband's passing for the entire rest of her life, Hyacinth. She has every right to move on and find happiness."

"Not when it could damage the overall reputation of our entire neighborhood, Richard," Hyacinth insisted. "If a person _must_ engage in outrageous behavior like that, the least they can do is wait until they're behind closed doors."

Richard laughed and said, "I'd hardly call _kissing_ 'outrageous behavior.' Hyacinth, it's really not that serious of a thing. Elizabeth is a grown woman, on her own property. Her husband died fourteen months ago, so she's single again. And she and William are obviously in love. And a grown woman, standing on her own property, has every right to kiss the man she loves if she wants to. And besides, it's not as if any of this is our business anyway, because it's not."

Hyacinth shook her head and complained, "I don't like this, Richard. I don't like it at all."

Before Richard could respond, Hyacinth stormed off into the kitchen.

* * *

The following afternoon after church, Liz went over to William's house and enjoyed lunch with him and Priscilla. As soon as they were finished eating, though, William got an important call that he had to take in his office upstairs, so he left Liz and Priscilla alone. Liz helped Priscilla with the dishes, and then they came into the lounge and sat down on the settee together to talk.

"So, your father says you two are going back to Askana next month," said Liz.

"Yeah, that's right," Priscilla said sadly.

"You don't seem very happy about it."

"I'm not," Priscilla told her honestly. "You have no idea what it's like for us there. Most people here in Britain don't know the first thing about Askana. Because of Dad's role in our government, the Askanian press literally watches every single thing Dad and I ever do. The time Dad and I have spent here in England this year is really the only time we've ever been allowed to just be people, just like everybody else."

"I know it's difficult, love. And I know that throughout much of your life, you really have gotten a bum deal. Your father's been very candid with me about what your mother put you through. I know your life hasn't been very easy. And I don't know if this will be very comforting or not, but it's the truth. Priscilla, honey, all the hardships you've endured throughout your young life have helped shape you into the strong, mature, wise, kind, resilient young lady that you are. You're a thoughtful, caring young woman with true character. And what's most important of all, you really do care so much about the people in this world who are hurting the most. And the reason you're like that is because you understand what it's like to endure tremendous pain. Oh Priscilla, I do admire you so much."

"Really?" Priscilla asked as a real light came into her brown eyes.

"Of course I do. You've been through so much, and you've become so strong because of it. You are such a special, wonderful girl."

In that moment, tears filled the young girls eyes as she told Liz truthfully, "Mother never once said anything like that to me. Never. She always found something wrong, something to criticize or complain about, in everything I ever did. Nothing I ever did made her happy. Nothing about me was ever good enough for her."

"You'll forgive me for saying this, but your mother was a fool, my dear girl. Priscilla, like I said a moment ago, you are a _wonderful_ girl. And your mother was ridiculously stupid not to be grateful to God for a gift like you."

Priscilla then leaned over into Liz's arms and embraced her, and much like a mother would with her own daughter, Liz lovingly kissed the top of her head.

"You're not like all the others, Liz," Priscilla told her while still in her embrace.

"What do you mean?"

"There's a ton of single women in Askana who are always throwing themselves at my dad. They want his status and his money. That's all they really care about. You're not like them. You really do care about my dad and me."

After their embrace ended, Liz looked into Priscilla's eyes and told her, "Well of course I do, honey. You and your father mean a very great deal to me."

"I really am happy that you and Dad are seeing each other. Dad has dated other women after he divorced Mother, but like I said, none of them really cared about him the way that you do. You're the first woman Dad has dated since the divorce who really feels like family to me."

Again, Liz hugged her close, and she told her, "You are a very dear, sweet girl."

Priscilla simply looked up at Liz and smiled, feeling more contented than she had in a long time.

* * *

Three days later, Liz was concerned after not hearing a single word from William. Throughout their courtship, they'd been speaking to one another at least once a day, so for William to suddenly stop calling her and coming by the bookstore was quite unusual. So that Wednesday, after closing up the bookstore for the day, Liz went by William's house…and got the shock of her life.

Much to her surprise, when she arrived, the front door was wide open…and absolutely everything (and every _one_ ) was gone. There was no trace of their furniture or belongings. There was no sign of either one of them. Liz went through the house calling their names, but every single room she entered was empty. For the longest time, all she could do was just stand there in the empty house, feeling as though she'd been punched in the gut.


	4. Liz Fights Back

**A/N:** See Chapter 1 for disclaimer.

 **Chapter 4: Liz Fights Back**

Liz basically remained on autopilot throughout the next few weeks. To say that she was shocked, hurt, and devastated by William's and Priscilla's sudden departure was the understatement of the century. Liz felt as though her whole world had come crashing down all around her. The one thing that helped her keep her sanity was Gail's upcoming wedding. Helping her only daughter out with all the wedding arrangements helped Liz keep her mind off her inner turmoil. And when Gail's wedding day arrived, Liz put on a brave smile, and in fact she was truly determined to be happy that day for her daughter's sake. Gail had asked Liz to be her matron of honor, which meant the world to her, and on her daughter's special day, Liz couldn't have been prouder of her. But when she and Emmet came home that evening, all the feelings that she'd managed to keep suppressed throughout Gail's wedding came rising to the surface. As soon as they got home, Liz went into her bedroom, laid down, and just let the tears flow.

It wasn't long before Emmet heard the sound of his sister softly weeping, and he gently knocked on her bedroom door.

"Come in," Liz said quietly.

Emmet walked into Liz's bedroom then, sat down on the side of her bed, touched her shoulder, and gently asked, "What is it, sis? What's the matter?"

In that moment, Liz turned and sat up on the side of the bed next to her brother, and she grabbed a couple of tissues from the box on her nightstand and dried her eyes. Then she said, "Oh, I guess it's just me being an overemotional female."

"I wouldn't say that. It is true that women are emotional, but that doesn't mean that it should be dismissed or overlooked when a fellow's favorite sister is hurting."

Liz smiled and laughed a little and said, "I'm your only sister, silly."

"Well, yes, but you're still my favorite."

"Thank you," Liz said quietly.

"Come on, Liz. What is it? What's got you so upset?"

"I'm not 'upset,' so to speak. I'm…overwhelmed. So many things are just hitting me all at once. Gail's all grown up and married. I can't believe it. It feels like it was just yesterday that the doctor told me I was pregnant, and now, here she is, all grown up, graduated from college, married, and starting a career in education this fall."

"I know. It's amazing how fast kids grow up."

"I think what's making all of this so hard is…I honestly believed I would be sharing this day with William. I so wanted him to be there with me as I watched my little girl getting married. This may sound silly, but there was a small part of me deep down inside that believed, or at least hoped, that we would be getting married ourselves someday."

"That's not silly at all. William fooled us all, Liz. He led you on, and there's no excuse for it. It was downright cruel of him to lead you on the way he did, only for him to just suddenly abandon you without a word."

"Yes, it certainly was. I just can't get over it. It was so strange. When I went to report his sudden disappearance to the police and they looked into it, they told me that there was no record of him or his daughter ever having lived at that address. It was as if they'd never been in England at all. It just doesn't make any sense."

"I know it's hard, Liz. I know how deeply you came to care for William, and also for his daughter. But you cannot torment yourself like this. Even though it is difficult, you simply must find a way to forget about him and move on with your life."

"It's funny. In the beginning, I really did believe Frank cared about me, and just look at what he put Gail and me through. And to Hyacinth, I'm just an object at her disposal to be used whenever she wants to talk to someone over tea or coffee, or whenever she wants to drag someone into one of her little schemes to try and climb the social ladder. And now with William, a man I was more in love with than any other in my life," said Liz as tears filled her eyes, "it turns out that I was nothing more than a joke. He was probably just using me to give himself a good laugh. Tell me something, Emmet. Do I have the words, 'I'm a fool; feel free to take advantage of me' stamped across my face?"

"Of course not. What you _do_ have is a very big, gentle, patient, generous heart, and tragically, we are living in a terribly cruel world, filled with mean-spirited people who have no qualms about taking advantage of gentle, patient, generous souls like you. Oh Liz, I know that William broke your heart, just like my ex-wife Jackie broke mine when she left me for another man. And I know it feels like you'll never be the same again, but you will be. It'll just take some time."

"I guess you're right," Liz said with a nod. "Thanks for coming in here to cheer me up, Emmet."

"That's what brothers are for," Emmet assured her, and then he leaned over and kissed her cheek. "It's been a long day. Why don't you lie down and get some rest?"

"That's a good idea," Liz agreed, and then Emmet gave his sister a side hug, got up from the bed, and left. Once Emmet was gone, Liz changed out of the nice lilac dress she'd worn to her daughter's wedding into a nightgown, and she crawled under the covers and quickly fell asleep.

* * *

"I haven't seen your gentleman friend in quite a while," Hyacinth said pointedly the following Saturday morning while pouring Liz a cup of coffee. She and Richard were sitting together at the kitchen table as Hyacinth brought her coffee to her – in a beaker, naturally – and gently set it down before her.

"If it's quite alright with you, Hyacinth, I'd really rather not discuss William right now," Liz told her rather firmly.

Wanting to ease the tension, Richard looked over at his wife and said, "Yes, Hyacinth, I think it's best if we change the subject."

However, _as usual_ , Hyacinth didn't listen. After she took her seat the table, she said, "It certainly is odd the way he just took off and left like that, isn't it? It's most suspicious. One would almost be inclined to think that perhaps he was involved in some kind of illegal activities."

"Hyacinth!" Richard scolded.

It was then that _finally_ , after all these years, something just snapped inside Elizabeth. She was a remarkably generous and patient person; in fact, it had often been said in by others that Liz had the patience of Job to put up with Hyacinth the way she did. But even people with Elizabeth Warden's remarkable level of patience had their moments when their extraordinary patience _finally_ ran out.

Ordinarily, Liz would never dream of actually saying this to Hyacinth, but today, she truly had had enough and Hyacinth had officially pushed her too far. Liz looked straight at Hyacinth in that moment and told her truthfully, "With all due respect, Hyacinth, you're one to talk about possible illegal activities. Your sister Violet's husband worked as a bookie for years before it was legalized. You brag so much about Violet and Bruce and their fortune, but you never stop to think that they acquired it through illegal means. So you're really not in much of a position to set yourself up as judge and jury of anybody else's life considering what happens within your own family, now, are you?"

To put it mildly, Elizabeth's little speech to Hyacinth left everybody in the kitchen that morning absolutely _stunned_ – even Elizabeth. Liz was _shocked_ that those words had actually come out of her own mouth. She couldn't believe what had just happened. She couldn't _believe_ that after all this time, she actually _did_ fight back for once. Naturally, Richard and Hyacinth couldn't believe it either, although Richard was certainly having himself a good hearty laugh inside. In that instant, Richard stared at Liz in utter admiration, even awe, much in the same way that Liz had stared at Richard the one unforgettable time he'd dared to raise his voice to Hyacinth and put a stop to her ridiculous antics at a telephone booth.

At long last, following a deafening silence, Hyacinth asked, "Elizabeth, what in the world has happened to you? What has this William fellow done to you? All these years, you've been utterly hopeless in social situations and not even my bright and brilliant example as a hostess has been able to help you. And let's not even talk about what you've done to my poor china over the years. But even with all your faults, you did have one thing going for you. You always had your morals. Now, ever since this William person has come into your life, you've just gotten out of control. You allow him to kiss you in the most inappropriate places, at the most inappropriate times, and you haven't cared one tiny bit about what that sort of thing could be doing to your overall reputation in this town. You've even allowed his influence to corrupt your behavior with me in the context of our friendship."

" _What friendship_ , Hyacinth? All you ever do is give me orders. All _I_ ever do is listen to whatever's going on in your life. _You_ have _never_ listened to what was going on in mine. _Friendship_ , like any other relationship, is supposed to be give and take, fifty-fifty. I'm always there for you. I'm always doing whatever it is you want me to do. I'm always listening to you. Name one time, _just one_ , when you have been there for me."

"I'm there for you constantly! Am I not continually inviting you over here for coffee and tea and my candlelight suppers? Am I not continually giving you the benefit of my expertise in the social graces? And might I remind you, Elizabeth, that you have broken my china cups and beakers over and over _and over again_. It takes a very kind and generous person to constantly invite a friend over to her house who is always breaking her things. And what's worse, given your behavior with William over the past few months, you have sullied your reputation. Yet out of the graciousness and generosity of my heart, I still allow you to associate with me."

Liz let out a sad sigh then, and she looked at Hyacinth and said, "You know what, Hyacinth? If it's such a chore for you to be my friend, I'll make things very easy for you from now on." Liz then got up from her seat, looked down into Hyacinth's face, and told her sincerely, "From this moment on, our friendship is over. I shan't come over for coffee, tea, or candlelight suppers anymore. I shan't be associated with you in any way, shape, form, or fashion whatsoever. You are officially free from me, Hyacinth. May you be happy over here in your house with your Royal Doulton with the hand-painted periwinkles, Hyacinth, because I assure you that without me in your life, those periwinkles _are_ in fact the only friends you will have left."

Without another word, Liz quickly walked out the back door, leaving Hyacinth and Richard behind, just sitting at their kitchen table in an utterly stunned silence.


	5. The King of Askana

**A/N:** See Chapter 1 for disclaimer.

 **Chapter 5: The King of Askana**

Seven months went by, and in that time, Liz really went through a lot. She was still devastated inside over what happened with William, but as time passed, she slowly began to pick up and move on with her life. Of course, she had committed the most heinous of sins with Hyacinth – telling her the truth about herself – and Hyacinth had yet to forgive her. But even though Hyacinth was still angry with Liz about what had happened between them during that Saturday morning coffee session, Richard made sure to exchange a kind word and a smile with her whenever they saw one another outside and Hyacinth wasn't around. Even though it was painful and lonely, Liz eventually managed to get comfortable with life on her own once again. She often worked long hours at the bookstore, and in fact her work there proved to be an excellent distraction. And it was no secret that no longer having to put up with coffee sessions and candlelight suppers was a great relief, although Liz really was sad at the way her friendship with Hyacinth had ended. However, even though she had maintained her friendship with Hyacinth all these years out of the kindness of her heart, it was an undeniable fact that a person could only take so much. She always would care about Hyacinth, but enough was enough, and she knew that she ultimately had done the right thing by finally standing up to her and putting her in her place.

However, one evening in late February, just as Liz was getting ready to close up the bookstore and go home, William's friend, Paul Silver, actually showed up there.

"Paul!" Liz gasped, and then she came out from behind the counter, walked up to him, and gave him a hug.

"Hello, Liz," he said pleasantly. Paul was a tall, muscular man in his early forties with blonde hair and blue eyes, and to say the least, he was quite handsome. He was now wearing a gray suit with a blue tie, and he looked quite nice.

"What are you doing here? I haven't seen you in so long."

"I'm here on behalf of William and Priscilla."

Liz stiffened then. Hearing their names was an obvious arrow to her heart, and Paul could clearly see that, and he truly felt sorry for her.

After a long pause, Liz finally asked, "How are they?"

"They're well, ma'am. And they've missed you terribly. I must tell you, they felt truly awful having to leave so suddenly without telling you. There's been something of a political shakeup back in Askana. It's a very complicated situation, and William thinks it's best if he explains it to you in person."

"Well alright. Where is he?"

"Because of everything that has happened over the past eight months, he's unable to leave Askana. He and Priscilla are actually staying at the palace at the moment with the King of Askana. And he's made arrangements for His Majesty's private plane to take you and your brother Emmet to Askana so that he can meet with you both in person."

Without a moment of hesitation, Liz asked, "When do we need to be ready to leave?"

* * *

"This place is incredible," Emmet told Liz the following evening as they walked the palace corridor together. The palace was located in the capital city of Askana, called Grace, in the Alexandria Province. The tiny country of Askana had four provinces altogether, each province containing two small cities. The Askanian flag was black with four golden candles, one in each corner representing the four provinces of Alexandria, Marina, Bethany, and Charleston. And the palace, which housed the Askanian royal family, was as beautiful as the island of Askana, itself. Almost all the palace floors were made of white or golden marble, and the walls of every single room were painted with the most gorgeous scenery, clearly inspired by the real scenery the island itself provided. It was enough to take a person's breath away.

"It certainly is," Liz agreed. She was wearing a long-sleeved, navy blue dress with a simple string of pearls and a pair of tiny sapphire earrings, and Emmet was wearing the required tuxedo for the event, and they both looked wonderful. "Oh Lord, help me. I'm so nervous. I can't believe William managed to get us both invited to the royal dinner party with the King of Askana this evening. Heck, I can't believe he got His Majesty to agree to let us stay in this incredible palace for a while. Can you imagine what Hyacinth would say if she were here?"

Emmet chuckled and said, "Yes, I know exactly what she would say. She would talk a bunch of nonsense about how she is one of His Majesty's closest friends, and she would try to convince everyone that he couldn't manage his position as king without her, and in the process, she'd make a complete fool out of herself and ruin the entire occasion for everyone unfortunate enough to be in her presence."

Liz laughed and told him, "You're probably right. I just hope and pray I don't spill anything at the royal dinner tonight. How awful would that be?"

"Liz, you'll be fine. I promise you," Emmet assured her.

It was then that Paul appeared in the corridor. "Miss Elizabeth? Mr. Emmet?" he called, and they turned around.

"Yes, Paul?" said Liz.

"It's time."

Liz took a deep breath then, linked her arm through Emmet's, and held onto her brother for dear life as he escorted her into the royal dining room.

* * *

Several minutes later, after all the guests appeared in the dining room, Liz anxiously gazed around the room for William and Priscilla, but she didn't see them. Liz certainly picked up on the fact that for whatever reason, she was seated right at the very front of the table, in the seat next to the King of Asana, himself, who of course was sitting at the head of the table. Emmet was seated right next to Elizabeth at her right, and he too was trying to figure out what the heck was going on.

Finally, after another painful few minutes of suspense, a man stood at attention in the background and said aloud, "Announcing: His Majesty, William Jacob Charles Spencer, King of Askana, and Her Royal Highness, Priscilla Alexandra Grace Spencer, Princess of Askana!"

Elizabeth's heart rate jumped to three hundred in that moment as William and Priscilla walked into the room. Young Princess Priscilla was wearing a long-sleeved, floor-length mint green velvet dress, and her red-brown hair was done up in a nice bun, and a small, beautiful sparkling tiara donned the top of her head. Liz was mesmerized by the beauty of the young princess. However, when her eyes traveled to William's, her heart just melted. He looked wonderful that night in his black tuxedo, and his brown eyes were just shining that night with so much love for Liz, and when she looked into them, she got lost in them.

* * *

All throughout the dinner, Liz simply couldn't stop shaking, and she even spilled a glass of water onto the table, which of course left her utterly mortified. However, halfway through it all, William leaned over and whispered a couple of words of encouragement into Liz's ear, and it did calm her nerves somewhat. Unfortunately, even though Liz was very excited to see William and Priscilla again, the royal dinner was basically torture for her.

When the event was over at long last, William managed to get Liz off to himself, which of course was no small feat for a king with an entire country following his every move. He took Liz out for a walk, with Paul discreetly following them a long distance behind. He took her out to a lovely spot on the palace grounds on that special early spring evening in mid-March where there were evergreen trees and the most lovely, calming waterfall. It wasn't as easy to see it and enjoy it at nighttime, of course, but it was still beautiful.

"William…or should I say Your Majesty?" Liz teased, and William responded with a laugh. "William, why didn't you tell me the truth? And why did you and Priscilla suddenly disappear?"

"Oh my dear, the answers to both questions are long and complicated. But then again, that's part of the reason I sent Paul back to England to bring you and Emmet here, so I could explain myself. In answer to the first question, try and put yourself in my place for a second. I was born the crown prince of my nation. All my life, the only reason practically anybody ever wanted anything to do with me was because of my royal status. Girls were constantly throwing themselves at me, but not because they were ever interested in _me._ They just wanted to become Queen of Askana someday. When my family and Ann's family got together and introduced us, I thought I'd finally found someone different. Ours was an arranged marriage. Our family needed a royal heir, after all. However, I really thought that Ann genuinely cared about me. As it turned out, she was no better than all the others. When I met you, you were completely different. You actually cared about who I really was. You were genuinely interested in me, not because of my wealth or my royal status. And quite frankly, it just felt so good to get away from the title, the duties, the pressure. It felt good to forget about all that for a while and just live my life as a man, like anybody else."

"I think I get it," Liz said with an understanding nod. "Is the need for a royal heir the main reason you pushed Ann into going through with her pregnancy with Priscilla?" Liz asked out of curiosity.

"I didn't want to lose yet another child through an inhumane procedure. That was my main reason," William told Liz truthfully.

"I understand."

"But yes, the need for me to produce a legitimate royal heir did have a lot to do with it. However, it's not as if Ann was some kind of victim. She knew perfectly well when she married me that it would be expected of her as the queen of our nation to give birth to a royal heir. She didn't go into the marriage blindly. She knew the whole time that having a child was a basic part of the marriage agreement.

"But anyway, I digress. Onto your second question. I know that I really hurt you when I left so abruptly without a word, and believe me, hurting you is the last thing in the world I ever wanted to do. But something happened, and Priscilla and I had to leave very suddenly. We had no choice."

"What happened?"

"When Priscilla and I left Askana for an extended stay in England, I left my younger brother, Prince John, in charge of all the country's affairs. He ruled Askana for me in my place while I was gone. Then one day, a number of the palace guards turned against our family and killed John and his wife Marie. You see, there are some very distant cousins of ours, the Sutcliffes, who are in the royal line of succession. The law was only recently amended allowing a female heir to ascend the throne, and because of Priscilla's gender, they have always tried to challenge her right to rule in the future. Even well before her birth, though, they were constantly trying to take over the throne through the years. They've always resented my being on the throne. When my brother and sister-in-law were suddenly killed, I was certain they were behind it, and I was right. As it turns out, they'd bought out a number of palace guards. Their intent was to kill both my siblings and their spouses and children and then to find Priscilla and me and kill us as well, and to try and make it look like it was a terrorist group that was responsible."

"How awful," Liz gasped. "Oh William, I don't know what to say. I'm so very sorry about your brother and your sister-in-law."

"Thank you. I am too. John was a wonderful man. A wonderful brother. And his wife was a very kind and loving woman. Their loss has hurt us all."

"I know it has. I just can't thank Jesus enough that you and Priscilla weren't harmed."

"Thankfully, the Sutcliffes' little attempt to overthrow our government didn't last very long. Our forces subdued them and imprisoned them very quickly. They weren't able to save John and Marie, but mercifully, Priscilla, my sister Olivia, her two daughters, and my brother's two sons got through it all unscathed. When I learned of my brother's assassination, I had Priscilla sent to a safe house in Europe for several months while I worked to stabilize things here. I launched a thorough investigation of the Sutcliffes and our entire government and palace staff and a great number of staff members have been replaced. I couldn't allow Priscilla to return here, and I couldn't allow you to come here, until I was absolutely certain that the palace was completely safe once again. As a matter of fact, I was afraid to even try to contact you until I was thoroughly certain that all my family's enemies had been dealt with. Given my royal position, any person that I'm close to, any person that I love, can become a target at any given moment. I had to be extremely careful. I couldn't take the chance that someone working for the Sutcliffes, or just some lunatic out there who hated me for political reasons, would hurt you – or even worse. I didn't want people finding out about my relationship with you until I knew you wouldn't be in any danger. You can never be too careful. Do you understand, Liz?"

"Of course I understand. I won't try to pretend that I wasn't heartbroken when you left. I really was. My life just wasn't the same when you were gone. Everything was just so…empty."

"I've felt the same way. Liz, you have no idea how much I've missed you. And I don't ever want us to be apart again."

Getting a vague sense of what might be coming next, Liz locked her eyes with his and asked, "What are you saying, William?"

William then reached inside the jacket pocket of his tux, pulled out a black velvet box, and opened it, revealing a large square amethyst ring surrounded by tiny diamonds on a rose gold band. Liz gasped the instant she saw it, and once again, her heart was beating at about three hundred beats per minute. William's chocolate eyes stayed locked with Elizabeth's crystal blue eyes in that moment as he told her in an emotional whisper, "I'm saying I want you to marry me."


	6. A Woman Who Fears the Lord

**A/N:** See Chapter 1 for disclaimer.

 **Chapter 6: A Woman Who Fears the Lord**

"Well what did you tell him?" Emmet questioned his sister later on that night as they were standing around together in the living area of his guest suite.

"I told him I needed some time to think about it. He told me he wanted me to keep the ring in the meantime."

"Liz, allow me to ask you a simple question. Are you in love with William?"

"Yes," she answered honestly without a moment's hesitation.

"Then what's there to think about? Tell him yes. Get married. Be happy. Live happily ever after."

"It's not that simple, Emmet."

"Actually, Liz, _it is_ that simple."

"Not when the person you're in love with just happens to be the ruler of a country! Emmet, don't you understand? If I marry William, I won't just be marrying the man I love. I'll be marrying a royal position. If I marry him, I'll be saying yes to a job I may not be qualified to handle. I'm just an ordinary woman. I'm a simple, boring housewife-turned-bookstore-owner. I'm not royalty. I'm not a queen."

"In William's eyes, you are. And in mine as well."

"Thank you, Emmet. I appreciate the vote of confidence, but I'm not so sure. I can't even bear the pressure of being in the same room with Hyacinth. If I can't merely be around Hyacinth without breaking teacups, how on earth will I be able to handle the pressures of being a queen? I'd be an absolute nervous wreck in every single social situation I ever encountered. I'd be a terrible embarrassment to William. I couldn't possibly do something like that to him."

"Don't be silly, sis. William wants you as his wife and as his queen, and he wants you because of the kind, gentle, intelligent, wonderful woman that you are. He's well aware of the fact that you get nervous and break teacups occasionally, and he couldn't care less. _He loves you._ "

Unable to think of anything else to say at the moment, Liz simply picked up the black velvet box that had been sitting on the coffee table, opened it up again for about the hundredth time that night, stared at the royal engagement ring, and sighed.

* * *

Two days later, Liz was able to have some time alone with William. He cleared his schedule so they could spend the afternoon together, and they had a lovely time eating lunch with one another in his suite. They talked, laughed, and caught up with each other, and it was delightful. But as soon as they were done eating, things turned serious.

"William, I've done a great deal of thinking over these past couple of days about your marriage proposal," Liz told him rather solemnly, and William could easily sense that this was bad news.

"Uh oh. Why am I starting to get the feeling that your answer to my proposal…is no?"

"William, I love you, and I love Priscilla. I love you both dearly. And there is nothing in this world that would make me happier than becoming your wife and joining your family."

"But?"

"But, I know that if I were to marry you, that would make me the Queen of Askana."

"That's right."

"William, I'm not a queen. I'm just a simple, ordinary woman. I can't even handle a coffee session with my next-door neighbor without going to pieces. How on earth would I be able to handle all the things I would have to do as a queen without falling apart and breaking everything in sight?"

William chuckled a bit, and he assured her, "Liz, when I was old enough to begin making appearances as the Crown Prince of Askana in my late teens, I always got the jitters. I was particularly terrified of appearing on television in front of tens of thousands of people. I've tripped dozens of times, and I've broken my share of glasses and cups and things. It doesn't matter if you're nervous or clumsy. It only matters what kind of person you choose to be; the way you choose to treat other people. The last Queen of Askana was perfectly graceful and poised in every situation. She never got nervous. She never dropped things or spilled things. She always seemed to know what to do and what to say. She was so charming. But underneath all of that, she was one of the most cruel, mean-spirited, emotionally abusive people I've ever had the misfortune to know. There's a verse in Proverbs that says, 'Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.' Ann appeared to have it all together on the outside. She was charming. She was beautiful. She appeared to be everything the Askanian people could possibly want in a queen. But on the inside, she was so very cruel that she drove her own child to a suicide attempt. And it took a long time, but the truth finally started coming out about her, especially after our divorce. The public eventually saw through her façade, and the last thing they want or need is another queen who's poised and charming on the outside and cruel on the inside.

"Many people are blissfully unaware of this fact, Elizabeth, but the cold, hard truth is, the vast majority of people who are political leaders in their countries are basically evil to their core, and I'm not just talking about elected leaders. I'm talking about royalty, too, and yes, that includes royalty in England. You would be utterly shocked at how many prime ministers, presidents, and royals in countries all over the world have ties to things that are not only illegal but downright gruesome. I'm talking about things like child trafficking and child pornography and pedophilia and the worst kind of abuse imaginable. It may sound crazy, but it's a sad and tragic fact that almost nobody becomes a political leader or a celebrity in any facet of the entertainment industry without selling their souls. I mean _literally_ selling their souls. To the devil. To Satan, himself."

"How did your family escape that fate?"

"Three hundred years ago, one of my ancestors, King John Alexander I, ascended the throne after the previous king, his childless great-uncle, died of pneumonia. Like many other royal dynasties, his great-uncle put on a big show of ruling in the name of Christianity and believing in God when in fact, he was involved in a number of occult practices and satanic rituals behind the scenes. King John Alexander was different. He was a Christian, and not merely a Christian in name only like so many other fake and phony politicians. I do believe, based on his writings, that he was serious about his relationship with Christ. And he didn't just talk about it. _He lived it._ As soon as he came to the throne, he brought all of his great-uncle's evil practices to an abrupt end and publicly asked our entire nation to pray to Jesus for forgiveness. Afterwards, he worked tirelessly to bring an end to all the corruption that had been taking place in our government under his great-uncle's rule. New libraries and universities and hospitals were built. He helped the poor and the sick. He was a wonderful example to his family and our nation as a whole. And mercifully, through the years, most of his descendants have followed his example."

"It's obvious that you have," Liz said with a gentle smile.

"I've tried, but I have made many mistakes. When I was a young man, my parents tried very hard to get me to understand how terribly important it was, not just for my own eternal destiny, but for the sake of our entire nation, for me to come to faith in Christ. At the time, I saw it was silly, religious mumbo-jumbo, and I refused to listen. I rebelled because I resented being born into this life. I didn't want to rule a country when I was grown. I didn't want tens of thousands of lives on my shoulders. I wanted to live for myself and do my own thing. But as I grew older and I found out for myself what kinds of things were really taking place on the world stage behind the scenes, I realized just how right my parents were.

"What happened to my brother and my sister-in-law is only the latest attack my family and our country have faced. Things like that have been happening practically my whole life, from within and without. But the battle for Askana's safety is never physical. It's always, _always_ spiritual. Ever since the reign of King John Alexander I, our country has taken a stand against the darkness, and whenever a country or a single person does that, they basically paint a big red bullseye on their back. When I ascended the throne at age thirty-one, I knew I couldn't protect and care for my country all on my own, and I've always relied on Christ, both for salvation and for help with looking after my country. And thankfully, He's always been there for me, even in my worst times when I was most distant from Him."

"I feel so foolish," Liz quietly admitted. "I first trusted in Christ for salvation when I was in my teens, but then after I lost my fiancé, Andrew, and my marriage to Frank went downhill and he left for Saudi Arabia, I felt as though Jesus had betrayed me and let me down, and I grew so distant from Him. All these years, the only reason I even continued having anything to do with the church was because Hyacinth would always drag me to church services and functions. And yet here you are, having carried a burden I can't even begin to imagine, and you're doing such a better job of clinging to your faith than I have."

"Don't praise me too much, and don't be too hard on yourself. I didn't always do such a good job of clinging to my faith. But thanks be to God, who never leaves nor forsakes His children, I'm still in the game. And so are you. Say yes to me, Liz. I love you. I need you. And what's more, the country of Askana and in fact the whole world needs you. With all the evil leadership in this world, we desperately need every God-fearing, honest, kindhearted person we can get our hands on. There are so many cruel people in positions of power. If someone gentle, patient, loving, and generous like you steps up to the plate and uses her position to take a stand for what's right, it could make a powerful difference for good in a world so torn apart by selfishness and greed. What do you say, Liz? Will you make me the happiest man in the world and be my wife? Will you stand by my side and help me try to make a positive difference in this insane world we live in?"

After a long silence, Liz looked at William with tears in her eyes and said, "Yes. Yes, William, I'll marry you."

William then threw his arms around Liz, gave her a long, hard, passionate kiss, and joyfully spun her around and around as she laughed out loud.


	7. The Queen of Askana

**A/N:** See Chapter 1 for disclaimer.

 **Chapter 7: The Queen of Askana**

The next eleven months were truly a whirlwind for Elizabeth as she began to prepare to become the future Queen of Askana. She immersed herself in lessons about Askana's history and politics, and she also worked very hard to overcome her nervousness and clumsiness, and for the most part, she was successful. She remained a guest at the royal palace in the capital city of Grace in that time, and it didn't take long for the press to pick up on her presence there. Rumors ran rampant throughout the country for months that the King of Askana was far more than just friends with his guest, Elizabeth Warden, but for the longest time, the palace refused to either confirm or deny the rumors. At long last, in February of 1998, Liz stood proudly by William's side in one of the many sitting rooms of the palace, her wearing a lovely designer lilac-colored dress and him wearing a navy blue suit, and together before the cameras, they officially announced their royal engagement to the world. And the world was watching – as was Richard.

It was on a Saturday morning that William and Liz spoke to the press about their upcoming nuptials, and at the time, Richard was sitting on the settee in the lounge watching television while Daisy, Onslow, and Rose were in the kitchen talking with Hyacinth about the latest silly stunt their senile father had just pulled.

"Daddy ran off after Mrs. Lewis in the nude and you cannot find him?" Hyacinth said in disbelief.

"We've been looking everywhere for him, Hyacinth," said a defeated Daisy.

"I don't believe for a moment Daddy would run after Mrs. Lewis in the nude!" Hyacinth fussed.

"He would if he's had too much to drink!" Onslow chimed in.

"Father's had a crush on Mrs. Lewis for quite a while now," Rose added.

Before Hyacinth could respond, Richard's voice called out, "Hyacinth! Onslow! Daisy! Rose! Come in here!"

They all hurried into the lounge then, and Hyacinth asked, "What is it, Richard?"

"It's Elizabeth. She's on television."

"Elizabeth? On television?" said Hyacinth, not believing her ears.

"There she is now," Richard confirmed, and then Daisy shushed everybody in the background so they all could hear what Liz and William were saying.

"Well, I can't speak for Liz," William told reporters, "but as for me, I think it was over the minute I first looked into her gorgeous blue eyes."

Liz laughed, and then she said, "It was basically the same for me. I'm pretty sure it was love at first sight for both of us. We hit it off so quickly. We just clicked. We just connected. It was incredibly easy for us to fall in love with one another."

"And this love story comes with a rather surprising twist, doesn't it?" asked the female reporter from behind the camera.

"Yes, it does," William answered with a smile. "You see, I'd left all my royal duties in the hands of my now deceased younger brother, Prince John, so that I could come to England for a much-needed vacation and enjoy some quality time with my daughter, Princess Priscilla. And one day, I wandered into a bookstore that was near the house that I was renting during my stay in Britain, and I met the most wonderful young lady."

Again, Liz laughed, and she said, "I don't know that I would say _young_ lady."

"Anyway, we ended up spending a lot of time together over the next few months, and we really got to know one another. And for the longest time, I didn't tell Liz that I was the King of Askana. For quite a while, she had no idea. And then when I finally did bring Liz and her brother Emmet to the palace and I proposed, she actually said no at first."

"I was pretty scared at the notion of becoming a queen," Liz explained. "But William is very supportive, and he helped me to find the self-confidence that I needed."

"Liz is much too hard on herself. Elizabeth is an absolute gem, and that's putting it mildly. And I am an incredibly blessed man to have this dear, wonderful woman for my future wife. And Askana is equally blessed to have her for their future queen."

In an obvious fit of jealousy, Hyacinth suddenly grabbed the remote off the coffee table and turned off the television.

"Future queen? Elizabeth? This can't be," Hyacinth said in disbelief.

"How about that?" Onslow said happily. "Our Elizabeth is going to be a queen."

"Oh, it's so beautiful! It's so romantic!" Rose cried out while Hyacinth's face contorted into all kinds of uncomfortable shapes in the background, completely unnoticed by everyone else.

"It's like something right out of one of my romance novels! How about that? Isn't that incredible?" asked Daisy. "Our Liz is engaged to be married to a king!"

"She looked so happy!" Rose said aloud.

"She certainly did," Richard agreed. "And I couldn't be happier for her. Nobody deserves this more than Elizabeth does."

"Hear, hear!" said Onslow.

"Excuse me," Hyacinth gasped, and then she quietly disappeared into the bedroom while all the others got lost in their conversation about Elizabeth's royal engagement.

* * *

The date of the royal wedding was set for the twentieth of September, and during the next seven months, it was difficult for Liz and William to find time to simply catch their breath. Thankfully, even though it was difficult with all the wedding preparations going on, the happy couple was able to set aside some time for themselves, and also for their daughters. Liz made a real effort to spend as much time as she possibly could with Priscilla, whom she was legally adopting after the wedding. William also arranged for Gail and Harold to come to the palace several times, and when they did, they always had a very pleasant visit.

In late July, Emmet, who had been given Elizabeth's house after she sold her bookstore and moved into the palace, made an announcement that _almost_ everyone was thrilled to hear. Liz was coming back to town for a couple of days, and William was sending Paul with her for protection to be on the safe side. As soon as people heard that Liz was coming for a visit, they quickly got together and planned a surprise party for her in the church hall. Liz was flying to London in one of William's private planes, and it was scheduled to land at Heathrow Airport at seven o'clock on a Friday evening, and Emmet was going to meet Liz and Paul there and bring them home. Then that Saturday morning, he would be bringing them to the church hall, where the vicar and his wife and basically the entire parish was going to surprise her. Throughout the week, everyone in town was busy helping with preparations for the big surprise party, including Daisy, Rose, and even Onslow, and they were all more than happy to do it. Well, _almost_ all of them were.

"I don't mind helping out, of course," Hyacinth said to Richard in their kitchen as she stirred the bowl of cake batter she was holding rather ferociously.

"Of course not," said Richard, who was simply trying to hold his head above water and survive. Life with Hyacinth was always murder anyway, but ever since she'd learned that her former next-door neighbor was actually going to become a queen in a few months, living with her had become even _more_ brutal. While all of Liz's other friends were truly happy for her, Hyacinth was so jealous, she could barely see straight.

"But I really don't see the need for all this fuss," Hyacinth complained a moment later.

"Well a person doesn't get married every day, Hyacinth. Elizabeth has found true love, and people are happy for her." He was very careful not to mention the royal aspect of it all for obvious reasons.

"You're wrong, Richard. People do get married every day. Or at least, they get engaged every day. Just look at my sister Rose. Heaven only knows how many times she's been engaged over the years. It's not as if an engagement is an actual accomplishment."

"Oh, I don't know. I think it's very sweet and romantic when one person wins another person's heart."

"Hmph! An engagement ring, even a royal engagement ring, is just a piece of jewelry, Richard. It's nothing to be celebrated, at least not to this degree. You want to know what a _real_ accomplishment is? A _real_ accomplishment is reaching the level of social and cultural perfection that I have reached through a lifetime of hard work and dedication. _No one_ puts the amount of time, care, and attention into the social standing of this neighborhood that I do. _No one_ comes even close to reaching the heights of class and sophistication that I reach every time I hold a candlelight supper or even a mere coffee session with a neighbor. Every single detail of just my dining room table alone is a work of art that most people cannot even begin to comprehend, much less achieve on their own. Elizabeth may have shamelessly romanced her way into a royal position, but it takes a truly special person to become as utterly perfect of a hostess as I have become due to my own diligence and hard work."

Richard knew better than to even _try_ to respond. He just blew out a sigh and quietly slipped out of the kitchen as Hyacinth continued stirring the cake batter, all the while angrily muttering to herself.

* * *

"And this is William, Priscilla, and me from a couple of weeks ago when we had that lovely little picnic together in the palace garden," Liz explained while passing one of several pictures around. Everyone had finished eating and now they were all sitting around at the tables in the church hall, just talking and shooting the breeze with Liz, who was wearing a periwinkle blazer, white blouse, and matching periwinkle skirt.

"Princess Priscilla is a beautiful girl," Daisy commented.

"Oh, she is. She is absolutely precious," Liz agreed. "I just adore her."

"You're so fortunate, Liz. You're not only getting a husband you adore; you're also getting a second daughter," the vicar's wife pointed out.

"I still can't believe all of this is happening. I still keep pinching myself, expecting to wake up at any given moment and find that this has all been just a dream," said Liz.

"Indeed," Hyacinth said in an obnoxious voice. "The odds of something like this happening to someone like Elizabeth are astronomical. While we do love you, Elizabeth, if we are to be perfectly honest, then we must admit that there is no one less likely to gain acceptance into a royal family than you, given your unfortunate taste in clothing, not to mention your lack of table manners, which has caused me to lose so many of my Royal Doulton teacups with the hand-painted periwinkles over the years. Yet somehow, amazingly, astoundingly, miraculously, despite all your obvious drawbacks, you seem to have pulled it off."

Understandably, Hyacinth's terrible remarks made everybody feel most uncomfortable, although no one said a word. Poor Richard looked like he just wanted to crawl away and die, and Daisy and Rose looked almost as horrified as Richard did. Onslow, the vicar, and his wife were visibly annoyed, and Emmet was angry. Liz could easily tell that her brother wanted to bite Hyacinth's head off, but she shot him a warning glance, and he backed off for her sake. Liz was certainly tempted to say something to Hyacinth, but she was determined to bite her tongue, stay cool, and _not_ allow Hyacinth to get under her skin.

"So Elizabeth, I hear that after the royal wedding, you and King William are going to be spending your honeymoon touring Europe," said the vicar, who like everybody else, was most anxious to change the subject.

"Yes, that's the plan. We're going to be spending some time in Italy, France, Greece, Spain, and several other countries."

"Oh, how exciting!" Rose said aloud.

"This really is just like something out of one of my romance novels!" Daisy cried out.

"So Liz, after you're crowned Queen of Askana, what are you going to do next? What exactly does a queen do anyway?" asked Onslow, and then Hyacinth's face turned a deep, angry shade of red.

"Oh, when William and I get back from Europe, I'm really going to have my work cut out for me. I'm hosting a number of charity dinners and fundraisers for cancer research and other causes. I'll also be expected to give a number of interviews for the press. And I'm going to be visiting all of the Askanian provinces with William to try to meet as many citizens as I can and try and give the public a chance to get to know me."

"That sounds wonderful, Liz," Daisy said happily.

"Let's just hope that Liz doesn't get so busy with all her queenly duties that she doesn't forget about us common folk," Emmet teased.

"Oh, Emmet!" Liz laughed, and then she leaned over and kissed her brother on the cheek. "How could I ever forget about you? You're my only brother. How could I forget about _any_ of you?"

"That's comforting to hear, Elizabeth," Hyacinth said in the same irritating tone she'd used before. "It is nice to know that even though you obtained a royal title by sullying your reputation with untoward romantic advances on a widowed man, you shan't forget about your friends when you run off to your palace."

Hyacinth had been taking jabs at Elizabeth like that all day long, and that one was _finally_ the last straw. Just about everyone was ready to explode at Hyacinth in that moment, but when they saw Liz get up from her seat and walk over to Hyacinth, they all remained silent, waiting on pins and needles to hear what she was going to say to her. In the past, Liz never would have dreamed of actually standing up to Hyacinth and publicly calling her out on her stupidity, but all her time with William really had strengthened her. She wasn't about to let her new royal position go to her head, but she was no longer going to allow all the Hyacinths of the world to walk all over her and disrespect her, either.

Liz then folded her arms, locked her eyes with Hyacinth's, and said, "Hyacinth, let's just get this out in the open and deal with it. Ever since this party began, you have done nothing but sulk and pout and make snide remarks against me, and quite frankly, I'm getting very tired of it. I know how important it's always been to you to become a member of the aristocracy; to climb the social ladder."

Hyacinth laughed a fake laugh and said, "My dear Elizabeth, one does not need to 'climb the social ladder' when one is already at the top of it."

"Hyacinth, with all due respect, I wouldn't call hosting candlelight suppers once a week reaching the top of the social ladder. However, I _would_ call becoming the queen of a country reaching the top of the social ladder. The truth is painfully plain to see, Hyacinth. I've surpassed you socially – _greatly_ surpassed you – and you're so jealous, you can barely stand it. Your greatest social accomplishment is having a sister who's in an unhappy marriage to a bookie."

"A turf accountant!"

"Whatever. My greatest social accomplishment, on the other hand, is becoming the Queen of Askana. It is literally no contest. All these years, you've looked down through your nose on me and you've treated me as though I'm so far beneath you, but who's on top now? You with your Royal Doulton with the hand-painted periwinkles and your white slimline telephone, or me? You see Hyacinth, I don't think I told you this, but when William and I get married in September, I'm going to be wearing a golden silk and lace wedding gown with a long train that is, in fact, quite similar in design to the wedding gown the late Princess Diana wore."

The instant Liz said that, Hyacinth winced and let out a small cry of pain, and all of Hyacinth's family and Emmet and the vicar and his wife, who were now standing in the background watching, fought to hold back their laughter.

"And in addition to the beautiful golden veil I'll be wearing, I will also have a tiara on the top of my head."

Hyacinth then let out a second, much louder groan of protest, and again, everyone standing in the background cracked up.

"And you see this gorgeous engagement ring, Hyacinth? This gorgeous _royal_ engagement ring? It's been in William's family for generations. With the exception of his ex-wife who rejected it, this amethyst engagement ring has been worn by ten previous Askanian queens, _and now it is being worn by me_. And you know why it's amethyst, Hyacinth? Because amethyst is purple. _Signifying royalty._ "

Hyacinth let out another cry, and the laughter in the background grew louder and louder as people stopped even trying to hide it.

"And let's come back to the tiaras for a moment. You know that there are a number of absolutely breathtaking tiaras that the Askanian royal family owns, and as soon as William and I are married, they'll be mine to wear, Hyacinth. _All mine._ The tiara I'll be wearing on my wedding day is actually made of gold, and it matches my golden wedding gown perfectly. Then there's this lovely little tiara that has several small amethysts in it that I'll be wearing on a number of occasions as it matches my engagement ring so perfectly. Then there's the one–"

Unable to stand it any longer, Hyacinth, holding her ears tightly, yelled, " **ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT, ALRIIIIIIIIIIGHT!** "

* * *

"I was dreadful, William," Liz said regretfully to her fiancé the morning after she returned to the palace from her stay in England. They were sitting together on the beige settee in the living area of Elizabeth's suite. "I was positively dreadful. I was bragging about my royal title and my social advancement. I was going on and on about my engagement ring and my wedding dress and the tiaras I'd be wearing. I was relentless. I don't know what came over me."

William laughed out loud and said, "It's a real shame I missed it. I wish I'd been there to see it."

"I'm glad you weren't there. I was awful."

"You weren't awful, my love. You were just human. I saw how Hyacinth treated you all the time when Priscilla and I were staying in England. A person can only take so much and I think you've taken far too much from her over the years as it is. It's high time Hyacinth started getting a taste of her own medicine. You've got to remember, Liz, that you're a queen. Not because of the title you'll receive by marrying me in September, but because of who you are as a person. And a queen should always be treated with respect."

"Oh, William," Liz whispered, and then she kissed William passionately.

* * *

At long last, the big day arrived. After endless preparations and royal functions and engagement parties and interviews for the press and fittings and wedding rehearsals, the time came for Elizabeth and William to get married. Liz invited everyone in her parish to the wedding – including Hyacinth – and William had them all flown in on one of his private planes. The happy couple also asked the vicar to perform the ceremony, which he was more than glad to do. Liz decided to break with tradition in one respect and have two maids of honor instead of just one. Both Gail and Priscilla served as Liz's maids of honor, and several young girls who were distant cousins of William's (but _not_ the Sutcliffes) were bridesmaids. The five-year-old daughter of a family friend, an adorable brunette girl with brown eyes, wearing a lavender dress that matched the dresses of the bridesmaids and the maids of honor, was the flower girl.

However beautiful that Princess Priscilla, Gail, the bridesmaids, and the flower girl were that day, though, none of them could compare to the bride. Liz was brought to the church in a horse-drawn carriage that morning, with hundreds of spectators watching on the streets, anxiously hoping to catch a glimpse of their soon-to-be queen. And when Emmet, in his white tuxedo, met Liz in the back of the church, he was truly stunned at how amazing his sister looked in her golden wedding gown.

"You look glorious, Liz," Emmet gasped. "You look positively glorious."

"You know something, Emmet?"

"What?"

" _I feel_ glorious today," Liz said with a radiant smile, and Emmet smiled in return.

"This is your day, sis. Enjoy it. Enjoy every moment of it. You've earned it."

And that was exactly what Liz did. She thoroughly enjoyed every single moment of her wedding ceremony, as did William. Elizabeth's feet just glided down the golden marble floor of the church aisle towards William, who like her brother and the other groomsmen, was also wearing a white tuxedo. And William watched so closely as his bride came down the aisle towards him on her brother's arm, his heart racing with excitement. He wasn't a young man anymore physically, but inside, today, he truly was a young man again.

* * *

After the royal couple exchanged their vows, everyone proceeded to the wedding reception, taking place in the palace. When everybody had sat down to eat, William tapped his champagne glass with a knife to get their attention, and then he made a toast.

"Everybody, I give you, Her Majesty, the Queen of Askana!" he proudly announced.

The crowd held up their glasses and responded, "Her Majesty!"

William then bent over and gave Elizabeth a long, loving kiss while everyone clapped. Even Hyacinth (reluctantly) applauded.

* * *

Hours later, when all the people were finally done eating, Elizabeth and William had their first official dance together as husband and wife. The king and his new queen just floated together on the dance floor in each other's arms as people watched and smiled. But even though hundreds of people were watching their every move in the palace ballroom that evening, and thousands more on their television sets, Elizabeth and William truly were lost in their own world. The only thing they could really see as they danced that glorious first dance together was each other's eyes.

Once their first dance was over, Liz danced with Emmet, Onslow, her son-in-law Harold, and the vicar (with his wife's approval.) And finally, she danced one last dance with her former neighbor and old friend, Richard. There was a great deal between them that had been left unsaid through the years. Due to Hyacinth's consistently atrocious behavior, they'd often found solace in one another's friendship. However, Elizabeth and Richard were honorable people, and even though they'd each harbored a crush on the other, they never indulged in an affair. Given the state of both of their unhappy marriages, it had been a very real temptation for each of them, but they never gave in. They'd always loved one another, but they'd kept it platonic despite how difficult it had been at times. And now, as they danced, they each knew what this was. This was their way of officially saying goodbye to everything that might have been between them. They were closing a door, once and for all, but it was not a sad thing. Elizabeth was happier than she'd ever been, and Richard, in turn, was equally happy for her. He knew she deserved this.

When the dance ended, Richard playfully asked, "Am I supposed to bow, Your Majesty?"

Liz laughed and said, "You know, in the Askanian royal court, it's actually forbidden for anyone to bow to Askanian royals. Askanians believe, and I agree wholeheartedly, that the only Royal a person should ever bow to is Jesus Christ."

"Interesting. I agree as well."

"I'm going to miss you, Richard," Liz told him seriously.

"And I you, love," Richard responded with an emotional whisper, and then he gave Liz a long warm hug, and he kissed her cheek. "You be happy now…Your Majesty."

Liz laughed softly and said, "Thank you, Richard. I will be. And you take very good care of yourself."

"I will," Richard said quietly, and in the next moment, he gave Elizabeth's hands an affectionate squeeze before reluctantly leaving.

Several minutes later, Hyacinth found Elizabeth. Elizabeth and William were just about to change before heading out on their honeymoon – as Hyacinth knew – and she did want to have a chance to say a proper goodbye.

"Well…I guess this is it then," Hyacinth said quietly.

"Yes. William and I are about to go get changed and then we'll be leaving for our honeymoon."

Hyacinth nodded, and then she said pleasantly, "Goodbye, Elizabeth."

Liz smiled and said, "Goodbye, Hyacinth."

Hyacinth started to walk off in that instant, but after she took a couple of steps, she stopped and she turned around and walked back to Elizabeth. Yes, Hyacinth had been petty, childish, jealous, and utterly impossible ever since she found out Elizabeth was marrying into royalty, but underneath all of her stupidity, she truly did care about her friend. The fact was not lost on Hyacinth that this could be the last time she'd be seeing Liz for quite a while as she began a new life in a new country.

After a long silence, Hyacinth finally looked at Elizabeth and told her honestly, "Congratulations, Elizabeth."

Liz gave Hyacinth an even bigger smile then and said, "Thank you, Hyacinth. Thank you very much."

"I suppose you'll be much too busy with all your royal duties to write to me."

"Of course not. I'll be terribly busy, yes, but _I will_ write and keep in touch. I promise."

Hyacinth nodded, and then surprisingly, she gave Liz a very sudden, very quick hug, which expressed to Liz all the things she couldn't bring herself to say out loud. After the embrace ended, Liz gave Hyacinth a loving pat on the back, and Hyacinth smiled, although it was becoming obvious that she was actually fighting off tears. Hyacinth just stood there in the palace ballroom with Elizabeth for several long moments before finally leaving.

It was like that with everyone else as well. Liz said her goodbyes to Daisy, Onslow, Rose, the vicar, and his wife. It wasn't quite as emotional when she said goodbye to Emmet, Gail, and Harold because they were planning on coming to the palace for a long visit over the Christmas holidays. However, all of the goodbyes to everyone did leave a bittersweet feeling in Elizabeth's heart. She couldn't wait to start her new life in Askana with William and Priscilla, but still, it was hard to leave her old life behind. She really would miss all her family and friends.

But later on that night after they'd gone up to their suite to change, Liz stood with William in their foyer and gazed into his loving eyes, and the instant she did, she knew she was ready for the newest adventure the good Lord had in store for both of them.

William gave Elizabeth a long, tender kiss then and asked her, "Are you ready to leave for the honeymoon?"

Elizabeth looked up at her husband, smiled, and told him honestly, "I'm ready for anything and everything with you."

William returned the smile, and once again, he kissed her for the longest time. When their kiss finally ended, William wrapped his arm around Elizabeth's shoulders and she wrapped her arm around his waist, and they began walking out of the palace, each of them anxious to begin their lifelong journey together.


End file.
